Y-series Haswell ends up with manufacturers

Manufacturers got the option of a new low power Haswell part for tablets and laptops this week.

The Haswell Core i3-4012Y is a 1.5GHz dual core processor with a power draw that drops as low as 4.5W under certain usage conditions. This means that battery life will be extended while at the same time users will get a fairly capable processor. The chip has 3MB on-board cache and 4200 Graphics so it is not bad for mobile use.

Intel is claiming up to 50 percent more battery life when compared to its previous Ivy Bridge parts. The chip’s Thermal Design Power (TDP) is actually 11.5 watts, but it becomes 4.5 watts when using Intel’s Scenario Design Power (SDP), which sets the thermal reference point based on “mainstream touch-first usages.”

On that basis the frugal Core i3 part is setup for use in a tablet. As demonstrated at IDF, fanless Haswell products are real and they are about to hit the market.